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Photograph by Marguerite Miller
Benjamin Franklin’s Way—funded by the Class of 1962 Alumni for its 45th reunion—
contains numerous axioms by Penn’s founder, incorporated into a series of granite pavers throughout the length of the 37th Street walkway from Spruce Street to Walnut Street. The Trustees approved the resolution to construct the walkway in February 2009; the project was completed over the summer by the landscape architecture firm Lager Raabe Skafte and the contractors, the JPC Group, who upgraded the sub-axis with brick and granite paving, granite curbs, pedestrian lighting, tables and chairs, and landscaping. This was a continuation of the tradition started by the Class of ’62 which gave Penn the now iconic Ben on the Bench as its 25th reunion gift in 1987.
A new garden at the rear of the Penn Women’s Center, at 37th and Locust Walk, was also completed recently.
Below is a list of Franklin’s 18th century axioms on education, effort and conduct, that have now become part of the 21st century campus:
- Well done is better than well said
1737
- Tart Words make no Friends: a spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a Gallon of Vinegar
1744
- Genius without Education is like Silver in the Mine
1750
- He that teaches himself, hath a fool for his master
1741
- He’s a Fool that cannot conceal his Wisdom
1745
- A true Friend is the best Possession
1744
- Haste Makes Waste
1753
- Diligence is the Mother of Good-Luck
1736
- There are no Gains, without Pains
1745
- Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn
1755
- An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure
1735
- Little Strokes, Fell Great Oaks
1750
- When the Well’s dry, we know the Worth of Water
1746
- Doors of Wisdom are never shut
1755
- Half the Truth is often a great Lie
1758
- He that cannot obey, cannot command
1734
- Distrust and caution are the parents of security
1733
- Don’t throw stones at your neighbours, if your own windows are glass
1736
- Lost Time is never found again
1748
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